Due acquerelli di Francesco Zerilli e la committenza nella Sicilia sotto il protettorato inglese all\u2019inizio dell\u2019Ottocento

La formazione di un artista siciliano, tra la cultura tardo-settecentesca del vedutismo e quella di un paesaggismo naturalistico pi\uf9 moderno, che aspirava alla verit\ue0 pittorica di stampo proto-positivist

Archivi di Architettura a Palermo. Memorie della città (XVII-XX secolo)

Il volume raccoglie saggi relativi ad alcuni tra i principali archivi di disegni di architettura a Palermo, in relazione, dunque, anche agli architetti protagonisti: Basile, Palazzotto, Marvuglia, ed altri. Si tratta del catalogo della mostra dal titolo Il portale degli Architetti e degli Ingegneri: quando tecnica e arte si incontrano, curata dal MiBac-Soprintendenza Archivistica per la Sicilia nell'ambito delle Giornate Europee del Patrimonio 2011, Palermo, ex convento della Magione, 24 settembre-5 ottobre 2011). Pubblicato al'interno della Collana editoriale "La Lucertola, collana di Arti, Lettere e Scienze", n. 2. Presentazione di Marcello Fagiolo

Experimental pre-assessing entanglement in Gaussian states mixing

We suggest and demonstrate a method to assess entanglement generation schemes based on mixing of Gaussian states at a beam splitter (BS). Our method is based on the fidelity criterion and represents a tool to analyze the effect of losses and noise before the BS in both symmetric and asymmetric channels with and without thermal effects. More generally, our scheme allows one to pre-assess entanglement resources and to optimize the design of BS-based schemes for the generation of continuous variable entanglement.Comment: 10 pages, 15 figure

EFFECT OF ADENOSINE ON ISOPROTERENOL-INDUCED HYPERTROPHY IN VITRO. A PRELIMINARY STUDY

Persistent β1-adrenergic stimulation is thought to induce cardiac hypertrophy, alteration in calcium regulation and Cx43 over-expression. Adenosine is a negative feedback inhibitor of adrenergic stimulation in the heart, protecting it from toxic effects of overstimulation. The aim of our study evaluate the effects of adenosine administration on Cx43 and pCx43 expression and [Ca2+]i in Isoproterenol-treatedcardiomiocytesby usingH9c2 cells. Adenosine co-treatment reduced cellular hypertrophy, Cx43, pCx43 and CaMKII over-expression, and reducedintracellularCa2+ overload. These results suggest that the beneficial activity of adenosine on cardiomyocytes underlie the reduction of Cx43-dependent calcium overload and CaMKII over-expression, implying a potential therapeutic in cardiac hypertrophy

Inflammatory Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm (IAAA)

Purpose: The aim of this study is to report our experience about the inflammatory abdominal aortic aneurysm (IAAA). Methods: Between January 1999 and January 2008 we treated 8 cases of IAAA. Two patients underwent surgery in emergency. The preoperative diagnostic procedures were ultrasound (US), computed tomography (CT) and intravenous urography (IVU). In 6 elective patients the diagnosis of IAAA was obtained preoperatively. In one case a left hydroureteronephrosis was demonstrated by intravenous urography (IVU). All patients underwent open surgery with midline incision and transperitoneal access. Results: No 30-days mortality occurred. A case of pancreatitis was treated with conservative therapy. All patients had 60-days corticosteroid therapy. Conclusions: Our data suggest that because IAAA have the same rate of rupture of AAA, they need the same preventive treatment as non inflammatory abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) The kind of approach OPEN-EVAR should be chosen with the same criteria as AAA, even if EVAR teatment doesn't allow us to obtain the biopsy. Furthermore there are no sufficient evidences about regression of retroperitoneal fibrosis after EVAR treatment. Also the premature onset should be considered in the choice of treatment

Carotid artery stenting with contralateral carotid occlusion in a rare aortic arch configuration

We present the case of a 47-year-old man admitted to our department with an episode of aphasia. Duplex scan showed an occluded right internal carotid artery and severe left internal carotid artery stenosis. Contrast-enhanced computer tomography demonstrated a common trunk for both common carotid arteries anterior to the trachea and aberrant right subclavian artery posterior to the esophagus. The patient was considered to be a high risk for carotid endarterectomy and, consequently, we performed stenting of the left carotid artery. To our knowledge, this is the first case reporting the combination of these two aortic arch anomalies and the concomitant endovascular treatment of atherosclerotic carotid stenosis

Enhancing H2 production rate in PGM-free photoelectrochemical cells by glycerol photo-oxidation

The photo-oxidation of glycerol was carried out by using TiO2 NTs photoanodes and Ni foam as the cathode for the Hydrogen Evolution Reaction. The photoanodes were prepared by anodizing Ti foils and titanium felt and then annealed under air exposure. They were tested in acidic aqueous solution without and with the addition of glycerol. When glycerol was present, the hydrogen production rate increased and allowed the simultaneous production of high value added partial oxidation compounds, i.e. 1,3-dihydroxyacetone (DHA), and glyceraldehyde (GA). The highest H2 evolution and partial oxidation compounds production rates were obtained by using home prepared TiO2 nanotubes (TiO2 NTs) synthesized on Ti fiber felt as the photoanode with an irradiated area of 90 cm2. These photoanodes were found to be highly stable both from a mechanical and a chemical point of view, so they can be reused after a simple cleaning step

Photocatalytic and photoelectrocatalytic H2 evolution combined with valuable furfural production

In this work the photocatalytic (PC) and photoelectrocatalytic (PEC) reforming of furfuryl alcohol (FA) under environmental friendly conditions was investigated. Both H2 evolution and partial oxidation to furfuraldehyde were followed. For the first time TiO2 based photocatalysts were studied and the photocatalytic activity of home prepared photocatalysts was compared with that of commercial ones under both UVA and simulated solar irradiation. PEC tests were performed by using home prepared TiO2 nanotubes (TiO2 NTs) as photoanode and Pt free Ni foam as cathode to improve the Hydrogen Evolution Reaction (HER). Both the partial FA oxidation reaction rate and H2 evolution rate were normalized for the lamp specific power to account for the different photon flux and the rates were higher for PEC process. PEC is a promising strategy for the valorization of biomasses with simultaneous H2 production in spite of the cost of the bias